Chewy Lavender Almond Crisps with Honey Whipped Cream

I have a confession… This recipe was not intentional (at all).. It was my “mess up,” when attempting to make Macarons for the first time. Now I will admit they are obviously not Macraons… but they are seriously AMAZING! They still have the chewy yet crispy texture and incredible flavor from the Lavender. Since these are completely flat, I decided to try to make them work with some short of buttercream or something. So I decided to make a Honey Whipped Cream because honey paired with Lavender is gorgeous!! So when I list the ingredients and directions please laugh along because it will not be accurate. Hopefully my next post will be real Macraons, but for now you get this.. The mess up that became a modern invention of goodness!

Ingredients

(For REAL Macarons)

1 Cup + 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Almond Flour

1 Cup + 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Powdered Sugar

4 Organic Egg Whites

Pinch of Sea Salt

1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Sugar (I used Coconut Sugar)

*Directions

1. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat Mat.

2. Blend the Almond Flour with the Organic Powdered Sugar in a food processor to make a fine powder (or sift together, discarding any large crumbs and adding a bit more Almond Flour and Powdered Sugar to compensate). Then sift the mixture through a strainer until it’s as fine as you can get it. This keeps crumbs from forming on the macaron tops as they bake.

3. With a wire whip attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the granulated sugar. Beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks and your meringue is firm and shiny.

4. Pour the beaten egg whites onto your Almond Flour mixture and gently fold them in, using a rubber spatula. Move your spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, using your other hand to rotate the bowl. Now hit the spatula against the rim of the bowl until the batter falls in a wide ribbon when you raise the spatula. When you can’t see any crumbs of Almond Flour and the mixture is shiny and flowing, you’re ready to start piping.

5. Fill your pastry bag with a number-8 tip (I didn’t have one so I used a plastic bag and just cut the corner to make a hole) and fill with batter. Start by squeezing out a small amount of the mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet to form a 2 1/2 inch circle. Be sure to leave 1 inch of space between macarons so they will not touch each other while they bake. Let the piped macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

6. Bake for 14 minutes.

Let the macarons cool completely before taking them off the parchment. Press the bottom of the cooled macaron shell with your finger, it should be soft.

*If you follow this recipe and directions perfectly, you really should come out with Macarons :)

…Here’s the mistakes I made from the directions (I’m guessing)…

I made the batch and had to leave, so I left the mixture in the plastic bag and left it in my fridge. (You may laugh at me) and came home hours later and baked it. When I “piped” the mixture, it just oozed out! So thats when I knew it was a mess up so I literally poured it all over my Silpat Mat. I baked it for the appropriate time and allowed it to cool, then I used a square cookie cutter and make my shapes.